Present Simple Wh Questions ESL Activities, Games & Worksheets
At the Party
ESL Present Simple Wh Questions Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Information Gap, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled Practice - Group Work
In this present simple Wh questions speaking activity, students practice asking Wh questions about basic personal information at a party. In the activity...
Habits and Routines
ESL Present Simple Questions Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Forming, Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice
In this insightful present simple Wh questions activity, students ask and answer questions to find people with the same habits and routines. Students begin by forming present simple Wh questions from prompts...
He and She Questions Practice
ESL Present Simple Wh Questions Worksheet - Grammar, Writing and Reading Exercises: Gap-fill, Matching - Speaking Activity - Answering Questions - Pair Work
In this present simple worksheet, students practice forming and using third-person singular Wh questions with 'he' and 'she'. First, students review the...
Information Exchange
ESL Present Simple Wh Questions Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Information Gap, Forming, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled Practice - Pair Work
In this productive present simple information gap activity, students practice asking and answering Wh questions about personal information in the third...
Lina's Daily Routine
ESL Present Simple Wh Questions Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Information Gap, Completing, Asking and Answering Questions - Group and Pair Work
In this present simple information gap activity, students complete a text about a student's daily routine by asking and answering Wh questions. First, in two...
Question Time
ESL Present Simple Questions Worksheet - Grammar Exercises: Matching, Gap-fill, Writing Questions - Speaking Activity: Asking and Answering Questions - Pair Work
In this free present simple Wh questions worksheet, students practice questions in the present simple with the question words: What, When, Where, Who...
What do they do?
ESL Present Simple Wh Questions Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Information Gap, Asking and Answering Questions, Writing Sentences, Table Completion - Pair Work
In this rewarding present simple questions activity, students ask and answer Wh questions using the third person singular to complete a table about four...
A Day in the Life of a Football Player
ESL Present Simple Wh Questions Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Information Gap, Completing, Asking and Answering Questions - Group and Pair Work
In this free present simple information gap activity, students complete a text about a football player's match-day routine by asking and answering present...
Abnormal Answers
ESL Present Simple Questions Game - Grammar and Speaking: Writing, Asking and Answering Questions - Pair Work
In this amusing present simple questions game, students ask a series of questions and their partner delays their answer to each question until the next question is asked. Student A begins by...
Information Gathering
ESL Present Simple Questions Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Reporting Information
In this useful present simple speaking activity, students find out information about their classmates' habits and routines by asking and answering Wh questions. Give each student a question card about...
Just a Normal Day
ESL Daily Routines Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Asking and Answering Questions, Writing Sentences, Controlled and Freer Practice - Pair Work
In this free present simple questions activity, students ask and answer Wh questions about daily routines. In pairs, students take turns interviewing their partner...
Likewise
ESL Habits and Routines Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Sentence Completion, Forming, Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice
This engaging present simple questions activity helps to teach students how to ask and answer questions about habits and routines. To begin, students...
Mistakes, Mistakes
ESL Present Simple Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Error Correction, Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Pair Work
In this present simple error correction activity, students correct mistakes in third-person singular Wh questions and then use the questions to interview a partner...
Put it together
ESL Present Simple Questions Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Forming, Asking and Answering Questions, Discussions - Group Work
In this enjoyable present simple speaking activity, students practice asking and answering Wh questions with the verb 'to be' and 'do'. In groups...
The Present Simple Exchange
ESL Present Simple Wh Questions Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Forming, Asking and Answering Questions, Controlled and Freer Practice - Group and Pair Work
In this present simple speaking activity, students practice forming, asking and answering present simple Wh conversation questions. First, in two...
True or False?
ESL Present Simple Questions Board Game - Grammar and Speaking: Forming Questions, True or False - Group Work
In this fun present simple questions board game, students practice asking and answering Wh questions about daily routines and habits. Players take turns rolling the dice and moving their counter along the...
Two Truths and a Lie
ESL Present Simple Wh Questions Activity - Grammar and Speaking: Sentence Completion, Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Pair Work
In this creative present simple Wh questions game, students practice writing true and false present simple sentences and asking and answering Wh questions to...
I have a question
ESL Present Simple Wh Questions Game - Grammar and Speaking: Forming, Asking and Answering Questions, Freer Practice - Group Work
Here is a fast-paced present simple questions game to help students practice making Wh questions. In groups, students take turns picking up a card and...
Understanding Present Simple Wh Questions
Present simple Wh questions are questions that begin with a question word such as what, where, when, who, or why, and ask for specific information rather than a yes or no answer. Students form them with a question word followed by do or does for most verbs, or directly with the verb to be, as in 'Where do you work?' or 'What time does she start?' When students get the word order or auxiliary wrong, they produce questions that sound ungrammatical to a native speaker and can derail a conversation before it starts, which is why accurate question formation matters from the very first lessons.
This page covers present simple Wh questions across A1-A2 and B1 levels, with 18 activities including information gap tasks, board games, worksheets, and speaking games, with three free downloads.
This table shows how to form present simple Wh questions with do/does and with the verb to be, covering the six most common question words.
| Question Word | Structure with do/does | Structure with to be | Example (do/does) | Example (to be) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What | What + do/does + subject + base verb? | What + am/is/are + subject? | 'What do you eat for breakfast?' | 'What is your job?' |
| Where | Where + do/does + subject + base verb? | Where + am/is/are + subject? | 'Where does she work?' | 'Where are you from?' |
| When | When + do/does + subject + base verb? | When + am/is/are + subject? | 'When do they eat lunch?' | 'When is your birthday?' |
| Who | Who + do/does + subject + base verb? | Who + am/is/are + subject? | 'Who does he live with?' | 'Who is your teacher?' |
| Why | Why + do/does + subject + base verb? | Why + am/is/are + subject? | 'Why do you study English?' | 'Why is she late?' |
| How | How + do/does + subject + base verb? | How + am/is/are + subject? | 'How do you get to school?' | 'How are you?' |
When to Use Present Simple Wh Questions
Finding out personal information about someone new: Speakers use present simple Wh questions when they want to find out specific facts about a person's life or habits, making them the go-to structure at the start of any social interaction, as in 'What do you do for work?'
Asking for practical details or directions: When a speaker needs specific practical information rather than a simple yes or no, a present simple Wh question is the natural choice, whether at a service desk, a hotel, or on the street, as in 'Where does the number 12 bus stop?'
Showing interest in someone's routine or habit: In conversation, speakers follow up a surprising or interesting piece of information with a present simple Wh question to probe further, showing genuine curiosity without being intrusive, as in 'Do you run every day? What time do you usually go?'
3-Step Framework for Teaching Present Simple Wh Questions
1. Build the Form Before Speaking: Elementary students need to see the question structure clearly before they can produce it. A worksheet that moves from reordering jumbled words to make grammatically correct Wh questions through to correcting common mistakes such as removing -s after does gives students the chance to catch their own errors on paper first. Adding a reading text about a daily routine that students answer in full sentences ties the form to a real communicative purpose before the class moves into speaking practice.
2. Make Question Practice Personal and Competitive: Once students can form questions accurately, push them into a guessing game that gives question-asking a real purpose. Each student prepares a card with one present simple affirmative truth, one negative truth, and one lie in the affirmative or negative, adding adverbs of frequency where needed. Their partner then fires Wh questions at each statement to sniff out the lie, for example asking 'What bus do you take?' to probe a suspicious travel claim. The detective element keeps students asking question after question without it feeling like a drill.
3. Push for Fluency Under Time Pressure: At intermediate level, the goal shifts from accuracy to speed and volume. In a fast-paced group game, students pick up a topic card and race to ask as many correctly formed present simple Wh questions as they can in two minutes, scoring a point for each one. Because each question must be answered by a group member before the student can ask another, the whole group stays engaged throughout.
Common Mistakes with Present Simple Wh Questions
Missing auxiliary verb in Wh questions: Students often forget to include do or does when forming Wh questions with action verbs, producing a question that sounds like an unfinished statement rather than a real question. Wrong: 'Where you live?' Correct: 'Where do you live?'
Using what instead of who for people: Students often use what when asking about a person, producing a question that sounds unnatural or impolite to a native speaker. Wrong: 'What is your best friend?' Correct: 'Who is your best friend?'
Common Questions About Teaching Present Simple Wh Questions
What is an interesting board game for practicing present simple Wh questions?
Board games keep question practice feeling like play rather than a drill. In the board game True or False?, the student on a player's right asks a Wh question from the square prompt, and the player gives a true or false answer in sentence form. Classmates then guess which it is and score a point for each correct guess.
What is a useful present simple Wh questions worksheet for elementary students?
The four core question words What, When, Where, and Who give elementary students a manageable starting point. The free worksheet Question Time, suitable for A1-A2 students, moves from matching questions to correct responses through gap-fill and on to writing Wh questions that elicit a given set of answers, before students practice the questions in pairs.
What is an engaging present simple Wh questions activity for pre-intermediate students?
The game Abnormal Answers flips the usual question-answer pattern to keep Wh question practice feeling genuinely communicative. In this A2 activity, when Student A asks 'Where do you go swimming?', their partner does not reply until the next question is asked. Each answer belongs to the previous question, so students must keep forming Wh questions under real pressure.
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